The Mystery of Amethyst Jayden
by PrincessDaydream77
Summary: On the way home from visiting Tracy in London, Mike came across a little girl lying at the side of the road, covered in blood. He takes her back to Elm Tree House, determined to get to the bottom of what happened. But can he solve the mystery of Amethyst Jayden?
1. A Helping Hand

The Mystery of Amethyst Jayden

Summary: On the way home from visiting Tracy in London, Mike came across a little girl lying at the side of the road, covered in blood. He takes her back to Elm Tree House, determined to get to the bottom of what happened. But can he solve the mystery of Amethyst Jayden?

Disclaimer: I only own Amethyst, nothing else.

Chapter One

"Goodbye, Tracy!" Mike Milligan called, waving out if his car window as he began to drive away from the block of flats, sighing as he began the long and tiresome journey back to Elm Tree House.

He had come to see how his former charge and colleague was settling into her new job at a newspaper in London. He would not have normally made the four hour round trip without being forced to, but he had always had a soft spot for Tracy. Heave knows why!

'_Oh, well_.' thought Mike. '_At least now I know that she's safe_. _I always worry about Tracy anyway_. _One day she's going to get herself into some big trouble_.'

Shaking his head as he remembered the occasion on which he had met Tracy again, when he was picking Liam up from the police station only to run into the young woman, Mike switched the radio onto one of the 'Golden Oldies' stations. He had automatically done so when in the car ever since Johnny had told him that that was the very definition of him.

He was so caught up in the music that he almost didn't notice a line of ducks parading around on the winding country road he had taken as a shortcut. He slammed on the brakes, whipping his head forward as he stopped. He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes shut as he tried to control the pain, and watched the ducks go past. Without meaning to, Mike began to laugh.

His laugh was relatively short lived though, as five minutes later, Mike saw something else at the side of the road. He slammed on the brakes once more, uttering a string of words that he would never do in the presence of the children as his head collided with the steering wheel. Still he carried on, opening the door and stepping outside, running forwards to the source of his worry. His theory had been correct. It was a little girl.

"Hello?" he asked the girl, moving her curtain of matted brown hair to the side to reveal her face. He winced as he did so, seeing the amount of cuts and bruises that covered it, but the child still did not move at all. It was only when he began to roll the girl over that she cried.

"No!" she yelled, her voice hoarse, yet the pitch of it high from fear and young age. Mike let her go, easing her gently back to the ground. He was truly relieved that she was conscious, yet still fearful of how scared she seemed to be.

"Alright, alright, I've let you go. I'm not going to hurt you." Mike said to the girl, his voice gentle, as it always was when speaking to fearful children.

"No." she said again, her eyelids drooping as her head lolled to the side, drifting back out of consciousness. Mike would usually have listened to the child, but when her eyes were flickering closed so dangerously, he would have to ignore the girl.

It was almost twelve hours later when Mike finally returned to Elmtree House. He was utterly exhausted, using almost all of his energy in order to keep his eyes open. After all, as he could see from the clock on the wall, it was almost five o'clock in the morning.

'_At least I won't run into the kids while I'm down here_.' Mike told himself in his mind, trying to make the best of a bad situation. '_Or if any of them are, they're in trouble_.'

The moment he had thought this, Mike noticed that one of the lights downstairs was still on, with a slight shadow moving about. '_Someone's still up_.'

His fatigued brain protesting at his need to investigate, the greying man proceeded to descend the staircase, making his way down to the kitchen, to find that the figure casting the shadow was not one of the children.

"I wondered what time you'd be back." Gina told her colleague, sipping at her cup of coffee, which, due to the lack of steam, seemed to have sat there for a while.

"I've been down at the hospital." he explained in response, extracting a gasp from the other.

"What've you done?" she asked him, half concerned and, true to nature, half reproaching.

"I haven't done anything, I'm fine."

"Oh, it wasn't Tracy, was it?" The thought had suddenly popped into the woman's head and so she had expressed it immediately.

"No." he replied. Once Gina had widened her eyes, which Mike took as a wish for an explanation, he continued to speak. "I found a girl by the roadside. She wasn't very old, probably about Tee's age. She had cuts and bruises all over her, and she'd badly broken her ankle. I couldn't believe it."

"Oh my God!" the brunette exclaimed, a hand on her head. "Do we know where she came from?"

"No. But I'm going to get straight onto Social Services in the morning. Someone must have done that to her, and if they did, she isn't safe."

In a private room in the city hospital, a young girl with golden brown hair lay awake, staring unseeingly at the ceiling of the room. She remembered very little of the previous day, other than the pace the car was going at and the shouting of voices. The click of the car door as it opened.

Turning onto her side with a muffled cry of pain, the child began to cry. She sobbed in silence, knowing that no one was coming. As she thought that though, she remembered the greying, balding man who she had sent away. '_Maybe he will come back for me_' she prayed in her mind.

"Please help me." she whispered, crossing her fingers in pain. "Please, please help me."

A/N: I know it's not very detailed, but we will find out more about the girl next time. My first Dumping Ground fic, so please be nice.


	2. Save Her

Chapter Two

A/N: Thank you to strawberrymagic01 and Linneagb for reviewing.

When he awoke early the next morning, Mike Milligan's first thought was for the young girl he had found at the side of the road. It was hardly surprising to the man, who had scarcely stopped thinking about the girl since she had been admitted to the hospital.

'_I'll go and see her this morning.'_ he thought, considering the girl once again, and how lonely she may be. '_It's the least I can do, after all she's been through.'_

And so that was what he decided to do.

Of course, the action was not as simple as the man had anticipated. As soon as he was ready to leave, it was precisely half past seven in the morning, and, though he had had hardly any sleep at all, he was eager to get going, so that he could be there when visiting hours began, at eight. Unfortunately, luck would not have it that way, and he was intercepted at the door by the worst person to be intercepted by. Gus Carmichael.

"Where are you going?" he began, looking down at the notebook in his hand and taking a pen from his chest pocket for good measure.

"Nowhere." Mike responded, hoping for Gus to leave him alone. The statement, however, seemed to have the opposite effect on the boy, who grew more curious.

"Well, you must be going somewhere, or you wouldn't be going out of the house, so where are you going?" the boy persisted, poising his pen above a fresh page to record Mike's response. This made the man even more eager to get out of the place.

"I need to go and see someone. To help them." he answered, his tone now easily showing his desperation to leave the conversation as soon as possible.

"Help who?" Gus questioned, to be met with a large sigh from Mike, who, a moment later, was buckling himself into his car seatbelt and starting the engine. There was only so much Gus one man could take in the morning.

It took around half an hour before Mike pulled into the hospital car park, fear swelling his chest as he thought of the girl by the roadside. She had hardly been conscious that time she had met him, and she had seemed so scared. Given the condition he had found her in, it would not be surprising if she was overly cautious around stranger, but the point still stood tall in his mind. What if she wouldn't recognise him?

The thought was the only one in his mind, right up to the moment he reached the door of her room. That was when the nerves really began to kick in. '_What am I thinking of?' _Mike reprimanded himself, the voice in his mind stern as Gina's, beginning to push open the door. '_She must be terrified, alone in a strange place. At least, I might offer her a bit of comfort, if nothing else. There's nothing to lose.'_

The man had not been prepared for the sight before him, not in the least. Lying motionless on the bed, her hair partially covering her face, was the young girl from the roadside, seeming to rest in a fitful slumber within the unfamiliar place. It was painful just to see for the man.

Perhaps it was because the girl reminded him strangely of a combination of the children, a representation of all the opposite poles of the care home at once. She had the innocence of Tee, the life Jody had come from, the resistance of Elektra… she almost belonged at Elm Tree House already.

Mike was pulled from his thoughts as the girl on the bed began to shift more than she had already done, a clear sign that she had now awoken. When she raised her head and saw the man at her bedside, her first reaction was one that he had expected to see. The moment she saw him, she screamed.

The greying man, having expected her to do so, rose from his chair and bent down to her level, in an attempt for her not to be frightened. '_A little late for that.'_ he thought. '_But still, I need to try.'_

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend." Mike told the girl, sighing a little in relief as she stopped crying out, though had moved swiftly across the bed, away from the stranger. "My name's Mike. I'm here to help you."

"You want to help me?" the girl asked, her voice heartbreakingly innocent and disbelieving.

"Yes. I work at a place called Elm Tree House. We look after children like you, children who need help. If you need our help, we'll look after you." The child allowed herself to smile for a moment, before the happiness faded away.

"I don't need help." she whispered, sounding as though she had been trained to say so. '_If she's from the same background as Jody, she probably has_.' Mike thought, moving forward slightly. The girl did not object.

"Listen. I know you're probably scared, but we can help you. You do need help, you really do. Now… what's your name?" the man asked, hoping that he had built up enough trust for her to reveal this.

"No! I can't tell you, you'll take me away from them!" she cried, tears beginning to wet her eyes. It seemed he would have to work a little harder.

"If they've hurt you like this, then you need to be taken away from them." Mike argued, trying to his upmost not to raise his voice. That was the last thing she would need.

"You can't take me away from her, she needs me! She isn't safe without me!" the young girl exclaimed, shouting directly into Mike's face.

"And if you aren't safe, then neither is she." he finished. In truth, he had no idea who 'she' was, but the girl seemed to care so much about her that it may persuade her. After half a minute of silence, Mike saw that his work was done, and stood to leave the room. He had barely laid a finger on the handle when a tiny squeak came from behind him.

"Amethyst."

"What?" the man asked, turning back to face the bed, where the girl's mouth was still gaping from her confession.

"My name is Amethyst. Now, please… help me."

A/N: I know it's a little bit confusing right now, but it will be explained in the next few chapters. Next chapter, Amie arrives at the DG.


	3. The Beginnings of a New Life

Chapter Three

A/N: Thank you to strawberrymagic01 and Linneagb for reviewing.

Two nights more of bed rest, and the doctors had decided that it was time for Amethyst to return to her home. The only problem remaining was that she did not have one.

An emergency care worker had been informed of the situation, or at least all Mike knew of it, the previous night, and was meeting with the man and soon with a junior care worker as well, in order to discuss what the best path would be for Amethyst herself.

The girl had not really spoken since the conversation she had had with Mike a few days earlier, and had still not revealed the identity of the girl she had spoken of, leaving them none the wiser as to who she truly was. All they knew of the person was that she was extremely important to Amethyst, and the girl seemed to think of nothing but her welfare.

Unfortunately, this complicated a lot of things when it came to finding a home for the girl. She would not give them any clue as to where she had come from, or to where she would like to go next, and so Mike saw no other option than to take her back to Elm Tree House with him. '_At least this way, I know she will be safe.'_ he had thought, smiling as he thought of the last time he had thought those very same words, when he had left Tracy in London, just two nights previously, though it seemed to be a lot more.

If he truly thought of it, there was little difference between Amethyst and the Tracy he had used to fight with. Both were stubborn, quiet when spoken to and had the potential to be rebellious. If young Amethyst turned out to be a tearaway like his former charge had been, Mike knew that he would have a difficult few years in wait ahead of him. He did not begrudge these years at all, though. If the girl would be rebellious, at least she would have a spirit to be seen and heard, something she did not currently have. Not that he had seen, anyway.

Having been given the all clear to do so, Mike had ascended the main staircase of the hospital, which brought him to the emergency children's ward, where Amethyst's room was only a few doors from the steps, due to the amount of visitors she had received over the time she was present.

After a quiet knock on the door, and an equally quiet summons from within, Mike entered the hospital room, to find the girl he had been looking for sat on the edge of her bed. It took her a moment to notice the identity of her caller, as she had clearly been expecting another visit from a group of social workers, the kind that she had been plagued by for the last three days, but when she finally realised that it was Mike who had entered the room, a beaming smile lit up her face. '_I've never seen her smile properly before.'_ the man thought.

"Hello, Amethyst." Mike greeted, a smile of his own appearing on his face. She did not reply verbally, only nodded her head in his direction. "Have you got your things all packed?"

Once again, Amethyst only responded with an inclination of her head, rising from the side of the bed to clutch the single plastic bag that had been left at the edge of the room. It contained the clothes that she had been wearing originally, torn, broken and falling apart, as she was wearing a long sleeved woollen dress that had been given to her by the hospital staff. It was a hideous thing, and Mike had resolved with himself the moment he saw it that he would take her to buy some new clothes as soon as they left the hospital.

"Amethyst…" he began once again, a little unsure as to what he was saying. "I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?" she asked him, finally choosing to speak as her interest was captured. "Is it about my foster parents? Are they here?"

"Amethyst, that's why I'm here." Mike answered her, slightly saddened by the news that he knew would hurt her further. "You don't have any foster parents coming for you. You are coming back to Elm Tree House, with me."

Immediately, the young girl's face fell, the smile disappearing along with the shine from her eyes. She had obviously been expecting to receive the security that a foster family would provide, security that she had obviously not received from her own family, as they had failed to protect her from whoever had left her in such a state, and to see her reaction at having that stolen away from her, Mike realised just how similar she really was to all of the others back at the Dumping Ground. '_Like it or not, she is just the same as they are.'_ he summarised in his mind.

"Are you alright?" he asked, realising the moment he had done so how foolish the question had seemed even to him, let alone to the heartbroken girl in front of him. Her dreams of a family had just been shattered, and here he was, enquiring after her happiness. In an attempt to make up for this, Mike spoke again, this time trying to apologise, rather than make things better, or worse, as he seemed to have done. "I'm sorry, Amethyst. I know you wanted to start again, and not to go into the care system, but I promise, I will keep you safe and do as much as I can to get you a foster family. Just give Elm Tree House a chance, alright?"

Once again, the young girl nodded, the smile returned to her face now considerably saddened. She gathered her things and followed Mike out of the room, tensing a little when he put an arm around her, so that he could take some of the weight off of her crutches, but she found herself relaxing after a second, knowing that the man wished her no harm.

That, however, could not be said for the figure hidden in the shadows of the edge of the staircase, facing out to the window to see the young blonde get into a car with the elder man, seeming to be truly content.

If he had his way, she would not stay happy for long.

A/N: Aaaargh! Please review, so we can help her quicker. In a couple of chapters, by the way, we'll find out all about 'the girl', and why Amethyst wants to keep her safe.


	4. A First Home

Chapter Four

A/N: Thanks to Linneagb, xRonniex, strawberrymagic01 and Cookie05 for reviewing.

As Mike turned his key in the lock once again, though on this occasion close to sunset, due to the man's tardiness in arriving at the hospital that morning, Amethyst looked up at the place that was now to be her home.

It was rather daunting, to say the least, if she judged by the appearance of the building itself, as it looked more like a country mansion than it did a care home, by the sheer size of it alone. The girl tried to keep the notion of it being the size of a prison from her mind, as she knew she was only attempting to make herself an excuse to hate the place she had been brought to. In truth, Elm Tree House looked to be a lovely place to live.

"Don't worry." Mike instructed her kindly, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, as if he had somehow sensed her fears and wished to stop them from manifesting any further, as they tended to do with her, which he would have known, had he read her social file, which she was certain he could not have done, given that he did not know her surname to do so. "You'll fit in here in no time."

"I hope I will, yeah." she sighed, not breaking her glance from the top of the building, where the colours of the sunset were beginning to show, making the place seem all the more beautiful.

Once she was beckoned inside the large house, Amethyst was even more downhearted, as the inside seemed to be even more homely and warm than the outside had been. Toys lined the shelving units beside the staircase, laid haphazardly around the base of the staircase as well, along with a cupboard that Mike explained was for coats and shoes, while jumpers and other various things were thrown carelessly around the sofa, showing very clearly that the house was full of children who had been ushered to bed and had not bothered to tidy up after themselves. This was something that the young girl found quite comforting and even endearing, as it made the place seem less of a house and more of a home, an experience that the chid had not had for a long time.

"Amethyst, you know that no one here is going to judge you, don't you?" the man asked quietly, once again placing a hand on her shoulder, though on this occasion, she gently shrugged it away, remaining calm for a moment before her mind gave way to the haze of anger.

"Why would they judge me? What do you think I've done that means they would judge me?" she asked, the accusation in her voice extremely clear, as was the expression on her face. If there was one thing she did not like happening to her, it was people assuming that they knew something about her, when in fact they did not.

"Hey!" Mike exclaimed, raising his hands in a position that constituted surrender, before continuing to speak, in a far softer voice. "I'm not trying to say anything, I'm just trying to make sure you know that we're all a family here, and that no one is going to try and determine anything about you, because they don't want to, and they don't need to."

"I don't need a family. I have a family." she assured him, her voice far harsher than his had been. It seemed to Mike as if, similarly to Jody, she had been trained to hold her, particularly against anyone to do with social services. "And you can't replace them, even if you try."

"We won't be trying to replace your real family, not at all, because we don't try to do that for anyone at all." Mike pointed out, bending down to the level of the girl, who had sat down on the jumper strewn sofa, her arms folded tightly across her chest, as she attempted to remain immune to the points he was making. "Every single child who comes to us has had a family of their own. We don't try to replace that family, we just allow them to join the one we have here. The Elm Tree family."

For the first time since the argument had begun, Amethyst allowed herself to pause for a lengthy amount of time. Her biggest fear since she had arrived in the place was that it seemed to be more like a family home than an institution, as she did not want to feel that she was abandoning her own relatives, or at least that she was abandoning the one person that mattered within that classification. But now that Mike had told her of the way Elm Tree House treated its children, and the way that their group was like a clan of their own, a family that could come either first or second, depending on the preference of the individual child. She no longer had an argument to give.

"You won't try to replace them?" she questioned, her voice suddenly a great deal quieter than it had been, all the anger in her having been spent.

"No." came the simple response, Mike's tone only a little firmer, as he attempted to convince the girl of what she was only just beginning to believe. "They can be the most important family for you, if you want them to be, but we will still be a family here as well."

Seeing that she did not quite believe him, even after everything he had said, Mike tried one last attempt, the only thing he could think of that may help.

"The girl would want you to be happy, wouldn't she?" the man questioned, remembering the fuss she had created in her hospital room about said girl, though he still, admittedly, did not know who she was. Amethyst answered with a slight nod, just enough to acknowledge that she had heard him.

As she had been instructed to do, and after receiving directions to her new bedroom, the girl ascended the staircase, taking the small bag of her possessions with her. However, as she reached the peak of the steps, she turned, having realised that she could trust the balding care worker still stood at the base of them.

"I can trust you, Mike, can't I?" she asked, just to clarify what she already thought she knew. The man nodded immediately.

"Yes, of course you can." he responded, with a bright smile. Taking a deep breath, the girl spoke a secret that she had vowed to herself only hours ago not to tell.

"Then my name is Amethyst Jayden."

A/N: So, Amie's at the DG! Next chapter, we find out why she wanted to keep her name a secret. Please review!


	5. Dangers Unearthed

Chapter Five

A/N: Thank you to Linneagb and Cookie05 for reviewing the last chapter.

For the second time in the past week, Mike heard the chime of the clock in the hallway, signalling that midnight had come, as he was still sat at the computer screen, researching the piece of information that the young girl had given him, just a few hours ago.

He had assumed, when she had shown that she had trusted him enough to tell him her surname, the only thing that had stood between him and her past, that by doing so, she had given him permission to look at her history in the social services, as there was not another viable explanation for the revelation she had made. Having made this assumption, the man had been sat at his desk for more time that he had cared to keep track of, looking through file after file until he found what he had been looking for, hidden amongst bunches of unwanted children who waited in the system. Once he had done so, Mike almost wished that he had not, as the information that lay before him was beyond words.

'_Name: Amethyst Olivia Jayden  
Date of birth: 27th May 2002  
Status in care system: In residence, Elm Tree House.  
History: Amethyst was first admitted to Norwood Care Home in 2007, alongside her older brother, Jacinth, where she remained for 3 years. She was admitted under secretive circumstances, and was not permitted contact with her mother, as she had arrived looking heavily beaten, though her brother did not look so pained.  
She was then fostered for approximately 3 months by a couple from Sheffield, but was followed by her biological mother, who brought a baby with her, to take Amethyst back from the foster couple and Jacinth from the care home. She was refused access to the children, and the case of Ruby, the baby, was reviewed, though no grounds to take her from her mother was found, and this caused a great deal of distress to Amethyst, who spent a great deal of time asking to see her sister, though she was denied, and suddenly stopped asking after her brother took her aside for a word.  
3 years after the failed foster attempt, with no contact whatsoever between she and her children, Olivia Jayden returned and took Jacinth and Amethyst from Norwood with no warning. She was not tracked down by the social services, and is still on the run from the police and the council.  
Amethyst was admitted to hospital in April 2013, with a broken ankle and severe bruising around her neck and arms. She was discharged after 7 days, and was admitted to Elm Tree House, where she is still in residence.  
Amethyst is a delicate child, who finds it extremely difficult to trust those that she does not know. She is most likely a victim of domestic abuse from her childhood, from at most the age of 5, meaning that she is very easily scared. Her confidence has been decimated over the years, and she needs gentle care, but if she asks to be left alone, it is best to do so. She is extremely protective of her sister, Ruby, and it is best if none of her family is mentioned, out of her training by her family not to speak of anything they had done, training which was probably the cause of her injuries. She is not a hopeless case, as she is an extremely intelligent and compassionate girl, but she must be treated with gentility at all times.'_

When he raised his eyes from the screen after approximately fifteen minutes, him having read the text twice or even thrice over, Mike removed his glasses and placed them down on the table, raising one hand to press against his forehead as he leant the weight of his upper body onto his elbow.

Of course, he should have known that something was not right earlier on, or so he berated himself. After all, the bruises on the girl's arms were shaped too precisely to have been caused by a fall or a bump against a table, as she had tried to tell the nurses at the hospital. He doubted that the staff there had believed her tale any more than he did himself, but she had not budged on her explanation, having been as well trained as her profile had said she was.

Unable to bring himself to read the information again, Mike turned off the computer, exiting the office and locking the door in the space of a few moments. He had been intent on going to bed, but another idea struck him, and he set off down the opposite hallway to the one where his bedroom was situated.

When he reached the door of the desired room, the man opened it slowly, aware that the slightest sound could wake the girl sleeping peacefully within. '_After all she's been through over the last few months, the last thing I want to do is disturb the first proper sleep she'll have had in a long time__.__'_ he thought, closing the door behind him in silence.

There, in a small, undecorated spare room, Amethyst lay sleeping peacefully, an experience that she would not have had for half a year at minimum, he could guess. When stripped of the fearful expression which so often marred her youthful face, she was a very pretty child. Her hair caught the shaft of moonlight that had streaked through the curtains, the beams reflecting off of her hair, which had turned up a shimmering golden blonde, once the dirt and blood that matted it had been washed away.

It took the ageing man another minute or so to realise that this was the first occasion on which he had seen the young girl with her guard down. In waking hours, she was always overly protective of herself and her family, as she had no doubt been taught to be, but now, she seemed almost carefree, as a child should be.

Now, Mike knew what had made her so protective, but on the matter of what made her so fearful, he was only just beginning to find out.

A/N: I wanted to use this chapter, really for the bit about Amie's history. Please review!


	6. Friendship for the First Time

Chapter Six

A/N: Thank you to Linneagb and Cookie05 for reviewing the last chapter.

As the sun rose above Elm Tree House, Amethyst rose with it, a familiar feeling churning the pits of her stomach. Fear.

It took her a moment to distinguish the feeling from that of the deep fear which she had felt many a time in her childhood, but once she had done so, she was glad to discover that it was nothing more than a touch of nerves, something far simpler to deal with than the foreboding sense she had developed over time. '_At least nerves are normal for children.'_ she sighed in her mind, as she reached for the doorknob, her hands shaking as if to prove her point. '_Unlike the fear that I'm used to, thank goodness__.__'_

Trying her hardest to take calming breaths, the blonde descended the stairwell. Her hair glittered as it caught the sunlight, thanks to it having been washed properly the day before for the first time in a long while, and her skin glowed as well, for much the same reason. She certainly looked the part to make a good first impression, but just as surely did not feel the part. She felt like nothing but a frightened little girl, but tried to be strong nonetheless. After all, that was what she had always been taught, and taught herself in the absence of anyone to say such comforting things to her, as no one ever really had.

It did not take the young girl a great deal of time to locate the dining room, more's the pity for her, as she had wished for a little more time to prepare for the day to come. She knew that the moment she stepped into the room, she would be faced with the 'Elm Tree family', as Mike had called it. She thought this to be a lovely concept, of course she did, but families could hate each other, a concept she was equally as familiar with as the former. For all she knew, every one of these children could think that she was scum, that she wasn't worthy of being there with them, and could refuse to talk to her. Maybe even the care workers would not like her, maybe even Mike would turn against her. She was terrified beyond belief, but still she soldiered on. After all, if she never tried, then she would never know.

And so she had pushed open the door to the dining room, and, as she had expected and feared, every eye in the room turned to her. The children had ceased to eat, their eyes widened in shock as they caught sight of the new member of the household, and even the woman placing the cereals down on the table stopped to look. It was evident that Mike had not informed the regular occupants of the household that she had arrived, or that anything was out of the ordinary, as he was the only one smiling, a smile that he extended to her as warmly as he had done to any of the children at the table, something which made her feel accepted, for the first time in the institute.

"Hi, Amie." he greeted, standing to help the girl to the table, as her ankle was still too badly injured for her to walk on her own, though she was just about able to walk at all. Once he had sat her down at the table, beside the chair he would sit in and a blonde haired girl just as petite as herself, he addressed the rest of the table. "Everyone, this is Amethyst. She's the newest addition to the house, and I want you to make sure she feels welcome. Is that alright with everyone?"

Though no one gave a vocal answer, no one seemed to be too horrified with the prospect either, and for that the girl was thankful. As they began to eat, the others did not talk again, or if they did, it was in whispers, and Amethyst knew that they were whispering about her, but her mind was taken off that fact when the blonde girl, whose short hair was tied up in a ponytail at the back of her head, turned to her, just as Mike and the other woman, whose name was apparently Gina, got up to make some toast and get more orange juice.

"My name's Tee, by the way." she told her, and the golden blonde realised that she was the first Elm Tree child to have deigned to smile at her, let alone talk to her. "I know what it's like, moving to a place like this, but you'll get used to it. Everyone's really nice, and I'm sure you'll fit in."

"Tee!" came a hiss from across the table, but the child ignored it, instead continuing to talk to the new girl.

"If you need somewhere to sleep, then you can share my bedroom." she offered, and Amethyst was touched by the girl's kindness, especially as they had only just met. "It's not very big, but I don't share with anyone already, and so there's plenty of space for you. We can redecorate as well, if you want. I'm due to repaint my room anyway, and the stripes are getting a bit boring."

"Tee!" came the whisper once again, and once again the younger girl ignored it, waiting expectantly for something. When she realised that she was waiting for an answer to her offer, the golden blonde coughed a little, to clear her throat, then smiled more widely than she had done in ages.

"That's really kind. I'd love to share with you." she responded, and the pair of girls laughed a little at the strangeness of the situation, particularly as most people were still looking at them, except for a little boy with a stuffed giraffe in his hand, who was concentrating on trying to feed the toy crumbs from his toast.

"Tee!" This time, it was not a hiss or a whisper, but an exclamation, and the girl finally turned, standing from her chair and pressing her palms firmly against the table.

"Johnny, shut up!" she cried out, staring at a boy about three years older than her, dressed in a blue jacket. "I am going to share my room with her, and I am going to help her get around, and I am going to be friends with her, because this is my life, and she is my friend."

For the first time since she had arrived at Elm Tree House, Amethyst felt as if she was truly wanted. She had a friend in Tee, a father figure in Mike, and a roof over her head that could not be suddenly taken away.

But what she did not see was the figure hopping over the wall into the garden, waiting to bring reality crashing down.

A/N: So, Amie has a friend, but someone is watching her. Does anyone have any guesses as to who it is? If so, pop them in a review!


End file.
